Lately my runs have been in the cold, quiet, frigid hours of the morning. It may sound strange, but it’s really the easiest time for me to run. By genes, design or something else, I am one of those awful morning people, who wake up at the crack of dawn (or earlier: read as “at either 5 or 5:30 am”) and are in a fantastic mood, for at least the first half of the day. Monday through Friday I usually roll lazily out of bed before sun-up, throw on a plethora of clothing, and head to work. I work about an hour from where I live, one way. Yeah, I know it sucks. Once I am at work, I have the pleasure of taking my time as I get dressed and then heading out for a nice long run. I see this as the perfect way to start my day. A 5 mile run in the morning will undoubtedly leave me feeling fantastic for the next 4-6 hours. When I run mid-day, it’s good but usually due to time constrictions, I can only run about 3 miles at a clip. So early morning runs it is, however, you have to prepare each time for a new level of chill, cold, frigid temperatures plus winds possibly, which could make your run miserable. The nice thing about running in the morning is that there isn’t really anyone around; a few folks walking to work here and there, that one nutter on his bicycle, and a bunch of cars. You do a lot of internal learning during that time. When it’s quiet and cold, I turn inward. I find that these last few runs I have felt stronger than ever before and like I gained more out of them. Days 333, 335 and 338 have all been runs done in the morning, in adverse weather conditions, where I was forced to dig a little deeper physically and mentally to accomplish my goal.
Day 333 was two days after my last post about running. I also ran in the morning and I again ran my newly established 5.4 mile route. It’s an out and back which is a bit uphill on the way out (and by default, downhill on the way back). The route is simple and that’s one of the reasons I like it. I can very easily zone out when I know where I’m going. I ran the route again on Friday (after running it previously on Wednesday), because I enjoyed Wednesday’s run so much. For the first time in a long time, I was pleasantly surprised that the second time around was not as good as the first, but better. I felt myself thinking about the questions I posed in the last post and what was I thinking as I passed other runners, that cyclist, people in their cars, and folks sipping coffee by the coffee house? My thoughts were coming and going in an odd array of patterns, but when it came down to it mostly what I was thinking was, “God, I love this run.” In the end, I shortened my time for the same distance by a few minutes and felt invigorated and joyous after my run.
Day 335 was a run through the park (literally) with my boyfriend. As aforementioned he is quite the fast runner and could wallop me in a race, but he wouldn’t. As usual we started running side by side talking (well, him talking and me nodding) and then gradually over the real trail to paved trail to real trail layout he moved in front of me leading the way, while never getting too far ahead. After a while he was a couple of yards off in front and I was behind thinking and trying to keep myself at a decently steady pace to keep up. Rain was coming down consistently and continually hitting me in the eyes, which made me wish I wore a baseball cap under my fleece headband. But because of the wet trails and the yuck weather, I was getting tired fast and not feeling like running. But now that I was out there what choice did I have. Sometimes when I need to stop thinking about a chronic knee ache or that I feel sluggish and not too awesome on a run, I revert back to being a child and mentally call out everything I see (in my head, not out loud, that’d be weird). So my thoughts went from “I don’t feel so good, my knee hurts, damn it he’s fast, I want to just walk” to “rock, rock, tree, dirt, tree, snow? Tree, creek, dirt, rock.” This actually helped me stop internally whining to myself and instead have a decent run.
We ran about 4 miles in around 35-40 minutes. Running with my boyfriend is usually quite an enjoyable process, though I’m sure during the run I’m not the most pleasant person to be around. One thing I really love about running with him is that if we do an out and back run, on the way back he changes things up slightly by taking us down a trail or path I didn’t see or notice the first time. It varies the run and makes it more challenging, but more fun also. It is also fun to “chase” him. It was raining when we left and raining when we got back, but it was still a really good run. The best part of running with him is at the end, we run up this massive hill to my house and he of course always beats me up it. But when I finally get to the top he’s always waiting there with a grin on his face and tells me I did a good job. Always makes me feel like I had a great run, even if I’m hurting or out of breath.
Day 338 I woke up at 5:30 am, I did not feel like running. But after eating a big dinner of leftover homemade curry the night before, I had plenty of energy to burn off. So I pulled on all my gear and bundled up to go out in sub-20 degree weather and make the long journey to work. I have found that waking up early and running at work is actually nicer than running at home. This way I don’t have to hurry my run, shower at the speed of light and then rush to work with a huge mob of people, directly during rush hour. The downside is that I have to wake up at 5-5:30 am, get dressed in the cold, wait for a bus in the dark and cold, make a long trip, and then go run. But running is my life or at least a huge part of it so I do what I can.
When I headed out for my run, the sun was just starting to rise and the air was frigid, but crisp. With wind whipping in my face, I thought, probably for the first time ever, ‘Why am I doing this? It’s like 12 degrees out here.’ It was cold. Not your average I’m-a-whiner-It’s 30-degrees cold, but Arctic-ass-freezing-tundra-tush kind of cold. I was really struggling in the first mile, which is always the hardest, but once I passed the house with the American and United States Marine Corps flag flying high and side by side, I was warmed up. “Warmed up” meaning that my legs hadn’t frozen so I could (physically) keep running and that the air I was breathing into my lungs no longer felt quite as cold. As I started phase two of the run, I looked forward to my progress markers: the flags stuck in the frozen ground outside the local American Legion building, the Old Ball historical site sign (yes, I still giggle every time I see that one), the middle or high school with a outdoor track, the hotel I stayed in for the 2009 MCM, and the park where I turn around and head back. I love those markers, not so much in that I love what they are, but I love seeing them along my run because it reminds me of how much I’ve accomplished. And accomplishments always feel good. The third and fourth phases of my runs, I always seem to zone out and not really think about anything. I listen to my music and watch the cars or squirrels. I recite funny inside jokes to myself and smile outwardly to no one. I watch the sunrise over suburbia. While the second half of my run is always more relaxed, it’s also usually faster. Sometimes when you let things go, you get what you want.
Anyway I ran the 5.4 in about 47 minutes and was extremely surprised by my time when I looked at my watch after my run. I guess all that healing helped, because, finally I am getting better.
Happy trails y’all!
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